So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.
At the burning bush, God told Moses that he had seen the misery of his people in their Egyptian slavery. And then told him that he had come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and would bring them to the promised land. He followed that up by telling Moses to go and bring the Israelites out of Egypt. So who was going to bring them out? God? Or Moses?
I believe the answer to that is both. Moses would be working, together with God, to bring Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land. As we see going forward, God is the prime mover throughout the story. But he chose to use Moses as his spokesman to both Israel and Pharoah.
God could have delivered Israel without Moses’ help. In fact, God never needs our help in what he is doing. But he frequently chooses to work through humans to carry out his work on earth. Why? It can only be because it is to our benefit. Just like a parent helps a young child develop by involving them, God is helping us grow as believers and productive members of the kingdom by involving us in his work.
When God calls me to a task, it is mine to do. And he expects me to do it. But I am not left to do it on my own. God is also working, guiding, and helping me each step of the way. In the end, I can rightly say that I have done what God called me to do. But it is just as proper to say that he did it. God has granted me the privilege of working together with him.
